Also LOL at the Villa players dissing Ellis. Is there a more unpopular chairman in football? I mean we at Newcastle think Shepherd is the most stupid fucking fatty ever but even we don't hate him THAT much.

The Calciopoli verdicts were finally delivered this evening, hereís a brief rundown of all the sentences handed out.

Juventus:
Demoted to last place in 2004-05 season and stripped of that seasonís title. Their 2005-06 Serie A title win has also been wiped out. They will start next season in Serie B with 30 point deduction. Former directors Luciano Moggi and Antonio Giraudo banned from football for five years.

Fiorentina:
Relegated to Serie B with 12-point penalty for 2006-07. President Andrea Della Valle banned for three years and six months. His brother Diego, the clubís honorary President, suspended for four years.

Lazio:
Relegated to Serie B with seven-point penalty for 2006-07. President Claudio Lotito banned for three years.

Milan:
They stay in Serie A, but will start next season with a 15-point deduction. They are deducted 44 points from last seasonís point tally which means they have not qualified for the Champions League. Vice-President Adriano Galliani banned for a year. Rossoneri official Leonardo Meani suspended for three years and six months.

Refereeing officials:
Designator Paolo Bergamo deferred, Pierluigi Pairetto banned for two years and six months. President Tullio Lanese banned two years and six months, Vice-commissioner Gennaro Mazzei banned for a year, observer Pietro Ingargiola cautioned.

Referees:
Massimo De Santis banned for four years and six months, Paolo Dondarini stopped for three years and six months, Gianluca Paparesta banned for three months. Pasquale Rodomonti, Paolo Bertini, Domenico Messina, Gianluca Rocchi and Paolo Tagliavento all cleared.

Linesmen:
Claudio Puglisi and Fabrizio Babini banned for a year.

Italian Football Federation officials:
President Franco Carraro stopped for four years and six months. Vice-President Innocenzo Mazzini suspended for five years.

Serie B is gonna be nuts next season. But who cares Italian football is boring as shit anyway.

I'd say Juventus got off easy, considering there was talk of them being relegated to Serie C. But with the 30 point deduction it seems almost impossible for them to get back into Serie A within a year. Ah well.

They won't get back to Serie A this season. In fact, they'd probably need to get at least 65-70 points this year to avoid being relegated to the Serie C, and given the firesale of their players which will happen as a result of this verdict, it's anybody's guess whether they can actually stay in Serie B.

I'd say it's actually a worse verdict for them than if they actually had been relegated straight to Serie C.

Assuming you mean from Scottish clubs, not nationals, Patrick Kisnorbo. A shit midfielder under Levein, one of the worst players to wear the shirt, but has been quality since Rob Kelly put him in defence.

And thanks for validating my belief that Hughes is a good player. I think he's great, but the City fans really turned on him for no justified reason.

Hughesey's a good little player, but towards the end of the season he was pretty anonymous in games, like Gareth Williams (there's another Scot who's been generally shit for us, Rob). It'd help if he was played in the centre more often but with Kelly hinting there's no more money to get new players and the fact that we lack a left winger suggests he may be on the left again

Alan Maybury was our best player in the first 6 months after arriving from Hearts, but he was cack last season. I thought they'd be more players from Scottish sides to cover but apparantely not.

They won't get back to Serie A this season. In fact, they'd probably need to get at least 65-70 points this year to avoid being relegated to the Serie C, and given the firesale of their players which will happen as a result of this verdict, it's anybody's guess whether they can actually stay in Serie B.

I'd say it's actually a worse verdict for them than if they actually had been relegated straight to Serie C.

I think they'll stay up comfortably. They have an immense squad really and i think i read someone associated with them saying they don't actually need the money, so i bet only the big names will go.

I tried doing a fantasy premiership league but I don't like the salary cap leagues, I don't understand how it works, and I don't know enough of the players to make a good team. I end up spending all my money on somebody bad.

Jamie Clapham is apparently training with the squad as well. Which doesn't make me particularly happy, until I realised it might mean no more Lee Naylor, which makes me positively over the fucking moon

While I think about it, the other thing that pisses me off about Breen is that he's 32 and they've given him a 2 year deal. Back when we were relegated from the Prem they refused to give Paul Butler, who was also 32 and an absolute rock when we got promoted in the first place and played his heart out even though he was pretty much outclassed in the Prem, a similar 2 year deal, and he ended up signing for Leeds, where he is still playing well (far as I know anyway).

Jamie Clapham is apparently training with the squad as well. Which doesn't make me particularly happy, until I realised it might mean no more Lee Naylor, which makes me positively over the fucking moon

Well Mick McCarthy is now the new manager. More fucking Sunderland rejects I swear Moxey wants to move the club up there.

Having said that, his no-bullshit attitude should help some, because there are some serious underperformers at the club. And he did manage to get Sunderland up on a shoestring (which it's looking more and more likely we're going to be operating on) and got the youth system going on...more I think about it the more it seems a good choice.

Of course the fear of keping DOL on board has been erradicated but I must address it...It I actually liked DOL and was happy when he joined us. His assertion that he was not a "cheque book" manager seemed to work for him in his first season at the helm (6th place finish) but then it all went downhill...and the excuses came...the "small squad", "the injuries", "the unlucky conceding of a goal" and to top it the "not enough investment/funds". What a way to prove you don't need huge amounts of money to suceed! All in all I'm glad he's gone.

Now people will call for the head of Ellis (to which I totally agree) blaming him for said lack of funds. Once again I totally agree with this assertion BUT a manager should be able to get the best out of any set of players and thats something O'Leary never did. This is why I'm hoping for Alan Curbishly...a man that worked wonders at Charlton with a reletively small squad, a lack of huge funds and only a mildly talented squad!

If we can't afford to invest, we need to get the best out of the players that we already have. One of Villa's best pluses is our academy and abundance of young talent coming through, so lets use it!

So aside from the poor finish of last season, the fear of relegation this season, the club in a mess before the start of season, the search for a new manager, getting rid of Ellis...what else is bugging me?

THE SHIRT!

The kit looks shit this season. I didn't think it could get much worse that DWS Investments which looked like we had COWS written across our chests, but, I was wrong.

When I heard that our new sponsor was a company called 32Red.com I looked them up and found that there company consignia was pretty decent.

So imagine my dissapointment when I saw the kits with 32RED.com blazened in block capitals like this...

I know this is of little concern, but I am going to have to wear this shirt! It looks cheap, it looks basic, it looks...well...it doesn't look premiership!

This is how I imagined the shirt to look...

a lot better I'm sure you will agree!

I think it's a case that given all the other shit at Villa, I don't even get to look good through it!

Well Mick McCarthy is now the new manager. More fucking Sunderland rejects I swear Moxey wants to move the club up there.

Having said that, his no-bullshit attitude should help some, because there are some serious underperformers at the club. And he did manage to get Sunderland up on a shoestring (which it's looking more and more likely we're going to be operating on) and got the youth system going on...more I think about it the more it seems a good choice.

chyeah. i'll be honest, i laughed in your general direction when i found that tosser had taken over. When McCarthy gets fired you'll probably hire souness or something.